SACE and African Development Bank Group to work together under the “Mattei Plan”
SACE, an insurance and financial group under the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance specialized in supporting enterprises and the national economic system, and the African Development Bank Group (African Development Bank website) today signed a cooperation agreement to provide credit protection under the “Malaysia-Thailand Plan” to promote investment in Africa.
The signing took place during the 2024 Africa Investment Forum Market Days in Rabat, Morocco.
The cooperation agreement was signed by Michal Ron, Chief International Operations Officer of SACE in charge of overseas networks, and Hassatou N’Sele, Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the African Development Bank, at the Office of the Italian Prime Minister.
In February this year, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni unveiled the $6 billion Malaysia-Thailand plan, which aims to strengthen economic ties and create a European energy hub while curbing African migration to Europe. The Government of Italy and the African Development Bank Group have planned a series of joint initiatives to support the implementation of the Mattei Plan.
The initiative creates synergies between SACE’s products, such as the promotion strategy as an untied export credit product, traditional export credit insurance and financial products offered by the African Development Bank Group. It will support the financing of high-impact projects in Africa while co-creating business matching opportunities between African and Italian companies.
“Africa is a market with huge potential for our company and our collaboration under the Matthew Plan will strengthen our position in key areas of development on the continent, in line with the purpose of the Matthew Plan,” said Ron. “In particular, we are already looking for new business opportunities where SACE can play a role through Push Strategy, a financial instrument that connects African buyers with Italian SMEs through guarantees, allowing them to participate in projects related to infrastructure, agribusiness , strategic projects related to healthcare, energy and education: priority areas where Made in Italy can make a significant contribution with the support of SACE.”
It aims to develop commercial relations between Italy and Africa, encouraging the business of Italian companies interested in operating on the continent in the priority areas of the Mattei Plan: education and training, agriculture/agro-industry, healthcare, energy, water, basics facilities, including digital economic infrastructure. All African Development Bank regional member countries will be eligible, although initial priority will be given to countries identified in the Mathei Plan: Algeria, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique and Tunisia.
Potential African buyers will be invited to participate in business matching events organized by SACE with the participation of Italian counterparts to promote cooperation and strengthen Italian-African partnerships.
N’Sele noted: “While investing in the continent is often risky, the reality is that Africa offers a wealth of opportunities but actual risks are lower than expected, particularly in key sectors such as education, agribusiness, healthcare, energy and others. and infrastructure.” She added: “The African Development Bank Group is committed to deepening partnerships with institutions such as SACE to expand financing and risk reduction solutions for critical projects in Africa through ‘Mattei’s partnership with SACE. Through our collaborations, we aim to unlock these opportunities and ensure that Africa’s vast potential is fully realized.”
African Investment Forum (www.AfricaInvestmentForum.com) is a multi-stakeholder, multi-disciplinary platform that advances projects to bankable stage, raises capital and accelerates transactions to financial close. Its vision is to channel capital to critical sectors to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the African Development Bank’s High 5s (http://apo-opa.co/49nJdPO) and the African Union Agenda 2063 (http://apo-opa.co/49nJemQ).
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
touch:
African Development Bank:
Department of Communications and External Relations
e-mail: media@afdb.org
Sara Stefanini
e-mail: s.stefanini@sace.it
About the African Development Bank Group:
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is a multilateral development finance institution that aims to contribute to sustainable economic development and social progress in the 54 African countries of its Regional Member Countries (RMCs). The African Development Bank Group, headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, consists of three entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). To learn more about the banking group, please visit African Development Bank website
About SACE:
SACE is Italy’s export credit agency and insurance finance group, directly controlled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, specialized in supporting businesses and the national economic system with a variety of tools and solutions to support Italian and global competitiveness. For 45 years, SACE Group has been a reference partner for Italian companies exporting and developing in foreign markets. It also supports the banking system with financial guarantees to facilitate access to credit for businesses, supporting liquidity and investment to increase competitiveness and sustainability, as part of Italy’s Green New Deal, starting with the domestic market. The Group has 14 offices worldwide, in the countries targeted for Made in Italy, and its role is to build relationships with key local counterparts and promote business with Italian companies through specialized financial instruments. With a €260 billion portfolio of underwriting operations and guarantees, SACE serves more than 55,000 companies, especially SMEs, supporting their growth in Italy and around 200 foreign markets.
